Lumos
by miss-bagel
Summary: At Hogwarts, Hufflepuffs weren't known to associate with Slytherins.  But Blaine Anderson, Hufflepuff, just might have to change that after seeing Kurt Hummel, Slytherin.  Hogwarts AU.  Klaine.  Short chapters.  Blaingst.
1. Chapter 1

The Great Hall had been lit with hundreds of floating candles, the soft glow illuminating the attentive faces of the students. An orderly group of young witches and wizards from all the houses were standing in front of them all, forming a half-circle. A Slytherin was standing in between two Gryffindors, and a Ravenclaw was slightly pressing her arm against a Hufflepuff's side. House didn't matter here. All that mattered was the music.

Professor Flitwick raised his baton. The choir took a deep breath.

The beautiful melodies swirled about the Great Hall, the student body speechless and spellbound. At the Hufflepuff table, a dark-haired sixth year looked rather taken aback, his thick eyebrows knitted together. He was near the front, and, although the choir as a whole impressed him, one member had completely captivated his attention.

A fair-skinned, impeccably dressed Slytherin was singing his heart out. The Hufflepuff's own heart was acting strangely. There was something about the way the Slytherin put his whole self into the song. There was something about the way he swayed ever so slightly. There was something about the way his eyes held such energy and defiance.

He froze. Those eyes were looking into his, and the sparks in that gaze were enough to make his stomach do a somersault. He felt like he had been cursed with a Body Bind.

As the song ended, he leaned over to his fellow Hufflepuff. "Hey, Duval, who's that Slytherin in the choir?" he whispered just before the student body erupted into applause.

Nick looked at the bowing choir. "That's Hummel, mate. He's a seventh year," he yelled over the applause. "He's not that bad, for a Slytherin! Why're you asking, Anderson?"

Blaine didn't answer. He had to meet this Hummel.


	2. Chapter 2

Kurt had never been particularly good at making friends, and having been sorted into one of the most reviled houses at Hogwarts didn't help. People might have thought him cold and uncaring, but quite the opposite was actually true. It was just be a little harder to see.

Kurt's footsteps echoed on the hallway floors, his robes flying dramatically as he rounded a corner. The choir performance had been one of the best yet, but there was still that one moment that had bothered him. That one moment when someone had caught a glimpse of his inner, most hidden self.

It was that bloody Hufflepuff.

Most of the students were still at the Welcoming Feast, so the route down to the dungeons was relatively deserted. "Magicis Laetatio," he said at the wall, and the wall fell away to reveal the passageway to the common room.

He flopped down on one of the leather sofas, closing his eyes. This was the worst moment to run into such a…complication. The Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts was all that he should be focused on, and yet he couldn't get those warm, brown eyes out of his mind.

The soft sounds of the Black Lake were slowly relaxing him. If only he could just make this year count, find a way to get through it without losing himself entirely in some schoolboy crush. But then again, who said anything about a crush?

A loud bang caused Kurt's heart to leap and his body to tip off the sofa. He scrambled to his feet, his cheeks burning. "Merlin's hat!" he yelped, turning on whoever the perpetrator was.

An attractive brunette was grinning at him, her eyes as cold as the lake outside the windows. "Why'd you leave? Didn't like the company?" she asked casually.

Kurt looked up from straightening his robes. "Look, I didn't feel like it. Lay off, Lopez," he said irritably.

Santana cocked her head. "Ooh, struck a nerve? Well, tough. You're in the Nova Choir, and that means you eat with us after we perform. I don't care about whatever drama you've got flying around in that porcelain head of yours, but you're part of a team, and teammates don't ditch without notice. Got that?"

Kurt narrowed his eyes. Before he could answer, another Slytherin blustered into the common room, her deep brown eyes flashing. "Santana, I can't believe it! You've already turned my tryout down?" she screeched.

Santana rolled her eyes. "Rachel, take a breath. Hold it. And go away."

Rachel stormed up to her. "I tried out over the summer holidays, and Quinn said that'd I'd probably get in—"

"Well, Quinn isn't Quidditch Captain anymore, is she?" Santana cut in. "I am. And you're no good on a broom."

Kurt took the opportunity to duck out of the common room, retreating to the safety of his dorm room. The two were still arguing when he closed the door.

"Welcome back," he said softly to himself.

A/N: To be continued. Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

The kitchen corridor was buzzing with the sounds of students chattering in the hallway and dishes clattering in the kitchen. Despite all of this activity, Blaine was uncharacteristically quiet, seemingly lost in thought. He tapped out the code onto a specific barrel, the lid of which then swung open. He crawled through and climbed out into the Hufflepuff common room.

A pretty blond Hufflepuff bounced up and smiled at him. "Hey, Professor Unicorn, how are you?"

"Hey, Brittany. Pretty well, I guess," Blaine said, smiling in return.

"How's your unicorn doing?"

Blaine sighed. "Brittany, for the last time, I don't own a unicorn. You know they're too rare, anyway. I have an owl, just like most everyone here."

She leaned in close, her bright blue eyes warm, almost as warm as the common room itself. "Blaine Anderson, you are too special to not own a unicorn," she whispered.

"Thanks, Brittany. Really," Blaine replied.

"Did you see Santana?"

"The Slytherin?"

Brittany bit her lip. "Yep. Isn't she amazing? She says she's going to get me a unicorn one day. Or a leprechaun. Or maybe a fairy!" she said happily.

"That's great!" Blaine said, the comfort of the common room slowly lifting his spirits after the confusion at the feast. "Well, I'd better get off to bed. Term starts tomorrow, you know."

As he walked towards the circular door leading to his dorm room, Brittany called after him, "I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for!"

Blaine stopped in his tracks. What was he looking for? What was she even talking about?

"We Hufflepuffs are very good at finding, you know!" she added.

Blaine turned and smiled. "Thanks," he said, and continued on.

"Blimey," Blaine sighed, scratching his head as he paced his dormitory floor. "That Nova Choir was brilliant, wasn't it?"

Nick looked up from unpacking. "Sure, mate. I mean, yeah, they're pretty good. They've only been at it for a year or so now. I suppose you would've missed that, being out of school all last year. By the way, how are you doing—"

"Fine, I'm fine," Blaine interrupted, his face suddenly closing off.

Nick raised his eyebrows but didn't press the question. He laid a few more pairs of socks on the patchwork quilt covering his bed. "I'm glad you're back, anyway," he said, sounding slightly hurt.

Blaine had stopped, facing away from Nick. "I missed you too," he said softly. "I missed this place. I've missed everything about Hogwarts and everyone in it." He laughed softly. "Even Brittany's insistence that I own a unicorn."

Nick took the opportunity to latch onto the lighter subject. "Yeah, I don't really get that. Why a unicorn, anyway?"

Blaine walked over and sat down on his bed. "It's because I'm special," he said, and then, more to himself, he whispered, "Maybe I'm too special."

A/N: To be continued. Please comment!


	4. Chapter 4

"What's that?" a rather bulky student said as Kurt turned around. Kurt looked up, startled.

The dorm room was dimly lit, but he could see Karofsky in the blue-green light coming from the windows.

"Oh, nothing," Kurt said faintly. "Just…welcome back to Hogwarts. Same old, same old. You know how it is."

"Lopez and Berry already at it again?" the other Slytherin said, smiling wryly. "I knew that with Fabray leaving, the Quidditch team would get all messed up. It doesn't really matter that much, though. Give me a bat and I'm happy."

"Karofsky, your Manimal is showing."

Karofsky gave Kurt a look. "Shut up."

Kurt's luggage was set at the foot of his four-poster bed, the light from the silver lanterns barely warming the coolness of the room. Kurt brushed back his hair and sighed. Karofsky had fallen silent, concentrating on unloading his own belongings. The concert had really gone well, aside from the startling moment with the Hufflepuff. Maybe he had blown all of this out of proportion. N.E.W.T.s and W.A.D.A. auditions were still the most important in his mind, and it had to stay that way.

Kurt crouched down and opened his trunk. Lying on the very top of his many robes was a small note, slightly wrinkled. He picked it up and opened it. Scrawled out in very messy handwriting were the words:

_Kurt,_

_You know how proud I am of you. You can do anything you set your mind to, and I'll be there to support you, 100%. Your mother would be so proud if she could see where you are today. Her portrait still asks after you._

_I snuck my old Quidditch goggles into your trunk. I hope you don't mind, but you do need some protection in stormy weather. You can't catch the gold if you can't see it!_

_Write back to your old dad every once in a while?_

_I love you,_

_Dad_

Kurt carefully folded the note and stuck it in his robe's pocket. Sifting through his school clothes, he finally pulled out a battered old pair of Quidditch goggles. He rubbed the dirt off one of the lenses with his thumb and smiled.

"Nice work at the concert," Karofsky said suddenly, causing Kurt to wobble a little off balance.

"Thanks," Kurt said, tossing the goggles onto his bed and setting about unpacking. "I'm hoping some more houses will try out for the choir this year."

Karofsky rolled his eyes. "Stop with the whole house unity bullcrap. It's getting annoying. And stupid."

"It's not stupid," Kurt said, sending a carefully calculated glare towards his friend. "We've all got to stick together, every student from every House. All this silly rivalry isn't doing any of us any good, and you know it."

"It sure as hell gets you motivated during a match, though," Karofsky said, closing his nearly empty trunk. "You nervous about team trials?"

"A little," Kurt admitted, tapping a wrinkled shirt with his wand, the folds instantly disappearing. "With Lopez in charge, I'm not so sure I'm going to be Seeker much longer."

"Don't worry," Karofsky said, pulling back the emerald curtains of his bed. "We're seventh years. Who'd go up against us?"

At that moment, the dorm room door slammed open. A tall, slender Slytherin about their age stood in the doorway, grinning. He stuck out his hand in Kurt's direction. Kurt stared at it. "Sebastian Smythe," the student said. "I'm your new roommate."

Karofsky scratched his head. "Our new what?" he growled.

Kurt shot Karofsky a look. "Hummel," he said to the newcomer. "That's Karofsky."

Smythe smiled condescendingly. "Nice to meet you both."

"I'm sorry, but where exactly did you come from?" Kurt said, looking him up and down. Smythe was wearing brand-new robes, but his shoes were worn.

"Beauxbaton Academy of Magic," he answered. "My father works for the International Confederation of Wizards, and he just got sent to the Ministry of Magic over the summer. So, I got sorted into something called Slytherin?"

"Only the best house at Hogwarts," Karofsky spoke up. "We get things done around here."

"Ah, so you're all separated then. How…sweet," Smythe said.

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "It keeps things interesting," he said, his voice tinged with annoyance.

"But you were just talking about how—" Karofsky began.

"—team trials were coming up," Kurt interrupted him. "I'm the Seeker, you know…"

"Oh, I didn't know," Smythe said, smiling. His smile didn't exactly reach his eyes.

Kurt looked at his watch. "Well, it's getting late, isn't it. Start of term tomorrow."

"I suppose I'd better go mingle, then. Get to know the rest of my schoolmates," Smythe said, backing away towards the door.

"Oh, be sure to talk to Lopez. She'll love you," Kurt said, backing away towards his bed.

Karofsky wasn't backing away from anything. He felt slightly left out.

Kurt's shoulders relaxed as Smythe closed the door behind him. "Well, that was interesting," he said, turning back to his trunk.

"I don't like that guy," Karofsky said, looking at the closed door. "He seems like a douche."

"Just what Slytherin needs, another douche to tarnish our already soiled name," Kurt said grimly. "We already have enough of those as it is."

Karofsky kicked off his shoes and lied down on his bed, unpinning his prefect badge and setting it on his bedside table. "Tell me about it. I had to take away at least ten points away from some second years just today. Bloody dungbombs…"

Kurt finally closed his own trunk in silence. It seemed like only last year that Karofsky had been throwing dungbombs at the members of Nova Choir. It probably was only last year, come to think of it.

Kurt quickly changed into his pyjamas and climbed into bed. He grabbed the goggles that were lying on his bed sheets and hung it up on one of the nails he had driven into a bedpost a few years ago.

As he pulled the bed covers up to his chin, he looked at the goggles and thought of home.


	5. Chapter 5

Warm sunshine trickled through the high windows, illuminating the dust floating about the copper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. Blaine stirred awake, reluctantly opening his eyes. It was the start of classes, and Mondays were going to be the busiest for him this year. He stretched, yawning widely, and then rumpled his black hair. A new year, a fresh start. Always nice after such troubling times.

As he slid out of bed, something in the back of his mind suddenly sparked to life, smoldering painfully. He froze. No, not right now, not today. Not after he had worked so _hard_.

He clenched his teeth as pain spread throughout his body, weaving its way along his nerves, searing them, ripping them open. He squeezed his eyes shut, his breaths coming in short gasps as he tried to keep his body functioning through the pain. "No," he hissed through his tightly gritted teeth.

The others were starting to stir in their beds. Blaine's breathing became more rushed as he tried to calm his body. If they saw him like this…he didn't want to think about it. He had already missed an entire year of school. Having little fits like this wouldn't exactly help him blend back in.

Finally, amazingly, the pain was starting to subside. Blaine's body relaxed, his muscles aching from the ordeal. He slumped back onto his bed, realizing that he had been clutching his arms the entire time. He leapt to his feet and immediately started to get dressed, trying as hard as possible to push that little incident from his mind. It was difficult to keep memories of the past at bay, but sometimes his body would betray him, causing those memories to push against the dam he had carefully constructed in his mind.

"What have you got today?" Nick, his robes halfway on, asked suddenly.

Blaine looked up from tying his shoelaces, a little startled. "Got Charms. You?"

"Ancient Runes, my favorite," Nick groaned.

Blaine smiled, finally feeling normal again. "Hey, you're good at it. Didn't you get an Outstanding on that O.W.L?"

"Yeah, but just because I'm good at it doesn't mean I like it. My mum wanted me to take the class, though, so I might as well. It's not like it'll hurt my Ministry chances."

"Pop quiz!" said a blonde Hufflepuff, slinging his arm around Nick's neck and smiling mischievously. "What's the rune for three?"

Nick smiled a little. "Runespoor."

"And six?"

"Salamander."

The sixth year grinned, rumpling Nick's hair. "You're such a good little student, aren't you," he cooed.

Nick pushed him off, trying to contain his smile. "Thanks for that, Jeff. As if I need another professor breathing down my neck this year."

Jeff shrugged. "Yeah, well, it helped last year when you kept getting distracted by Quidditch scores…"

Blaine shook his head, smiling. It really was good to be back among his fellow Hufflepuffs. He turned, adjusting his black and gold bow tie in the rustic, tarnished mirror. Nick and Jeff's jovial conversation was cut short when Jeff patted Blaine's shoulder. "Hey, mate, you okay? I heard about what happened last—"

Blaine's face quickly drained of color as Jeff yelped in pain, Nick having apparently jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow. But, just as quickly, he slapped on a bright smile. "I'm doing well, actually," he said. "Better, at least."

"That's great," Jeff said, rubbing his side and shooting a dirty look at Nick. "That's really great. Well, I'm going to head up to breakfast, if you guys want to join me. And I wouldn't mind it if you held back on the physical violence, eh?"

Nick and Jeff headed off, Nick whispering furiously at Jeff. As Blaine picked up his books, he noticed Jeff's ears turning slightly red. He grimaced. What a wonderful way to start the first day of classes.

* * *

><p>The Great Hall was buzzing with the chatter of students, and the ceiling was a bright, bold blue, interrupted only by a few fluffy white clouds. Blaine joined Nick and Jeff at the Hufflepuff table and quickly grabbed a few pieces of toast.<p>

With a great fluttering of wings, the first owls of the morning came swooping in through the windows. A brown barn owl settled gracefully in front of Blaine, a small scroll tied to his right leg. "Hey, Ben," Blaine said soothingly, "already working hard, I see?"

He untied the scroll, and the owl took off, nearly knocking over Jeff's pumpkin juice. Blaine smoothed out the letter and began to read.

_To my dearest boy,_

_Your father and I have no doubt that this year will be your best yet. I know that you've had to go through so much recently, but we know that you are stronger than even you know. We both love you dearly and have faith that you will continue to be the courageous man that you've become._

_Love,_

_Mum and Dad_

Blaine carefully rolled up the scroll again and stuck it in his robe pocket. His lip quivered slightly, but he quickly took a bite of toast, hiding the trembling.

He could do this. He could make it.

* * *

><p>AN: PLEASE comment! Hopefully you guys didn't mind the hiatus too much. Just...life and school and procrastination.


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